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Up until this point, admit it, school has been fairly easy. But with A-level choices looming on the horizon the scary thought (that what you choose now will decide what options you have in the future) might just rear its ugly head.

Just in case that wasn’t enough pressure, a group of universities called the Russell Group have published a guide announcing which of their universities prefer certain subjects and, more scarily, which subjects they consider too ‘soft’ to take into account.

In it, Johnny compares choosing a uni to choosing a marriage partner – “You wouldn’t rush into a nightclub and grab the first person you saw — likewise, you shouldn’t spend three years at a university without having spent at least three hours looking around beforehand."

If your main motivation right now in life is money, then go for it. You'll need to hunt out employers in your area, and there are plenty of job-hunting websites you can do this on.

If, however, you want those deeper rewards like respect, creativity, helping people, a love of learning, a feeling of self-worth by working alongside an inspiring person who can help you learn a specific skill or craft, then just rushing into any old job at 18 just for a quick pay packet won't be your best bet.

If they made a Hollywood movie of my first experience of university, the cheesy-yet-catchy tagline would read “he fell out of love with his course... but fell in love with his city”.

The movie would have a split time-line, showing flashbacks of me aged 18 and the mishaps and adventures of the next four years, balanced with an older, wiser me pontificating on the pros and cons of the whole experience, and apparently seeming all the more life-chiselled for it.

With record breaking numbers of students attending UK universities, and therefore more 'debt' being amassed (and more scare-mongering by the media of the notion of it), what is the human perception of debt?

Most people, if you stopped them in the street would say debt is a very negative thing.

Also, there isn't a single county on Earth that isn't in millions, billions or trillions of pounds of 'debt', and economics experts argue that a 'healthy' level of debt allows a country to, using a Star Trek reference, 'live long and prosper'.

In late 2017, the Sutton Trust conducted a Fairer Fees study on student finance.

This revealed that government changes to student finance introduced in October 2017 - (with repayments now coming off your salary when earning above £25,000 instead of £21,000), will reduce student loan repayments for each UK graduate by around £8,000 at the end of the 30-year repayment window

We thought we'd share this great article that education and careers specialist, Push founder and Chief Executive Johnny Rich was asked to write for BestCourse4me:'Do Universities give you Value for Money?'

Want to eat well on a budget? Push is here to help banish those rumbly tummies.

​An hour or two before closing, supermarkets mark down some of their goods, usually stuff that’s heading fast towards its sell-by date.

Like hyenas to the waterhole, scavenging hoards of bargain-hungry students have been known to descend on Tesco of an evening in the hope of bagging a few half-price items. But make sure you eat them before they go off.

So you're thinking of heading across the pond for uni? You wouldn't be the first – many have been drawn in by the glitz and the glam of Hollywood, bright lights of the city that never sleeps, the beaches, deserts, snowy mountains and just about everything in between.

And it's far from impossible to study your undergrad degree in the US, but it's not easy. And it's definitely not cheap.

Jealous of your pals who took a gap year full of elephant-hugging in Thailand, or club-repping over in Ibiza? We don't blame you, but we know travel gap years aren't right for everyone.

Be it the money, the confidence, or the timing, there are loads of reasons why some might pack away their passport and head straight for university instead.

You might be thinking that a year of exploring is a waste of money, and you'll have nothing but a sweet Insta stream and a tan to show for it at the end. Might even be thinking uni's something you want to get in and out of ASAP, and adding an extra year before you even start is going to waste time.

We thought we'd share this great article that education and careers specialist, Push founder and Chief Executive Johnny Rich was asked to write for Huffington Post: 'Do I Need to Go to a Good University?'

Johnny is is also a member of the Board of Directors at the Higher Education Academy and a member of Govermnent advisory committees on higher education (BIS, HEFCE). He is a consultant to Which? University, BestCourse4me, and various universities, as well as a key consultant for U-Multirank.

He is also a regular commentator on radio & TV on issues about student life, higher education and student finance, and a freelance journalist. For more info on the man himself, head over to his website.

Click here for some wise words on choosing the best university for you.

It’s a marathon, not a sprintThink of life as a marathon. You’re running along a path that leads to the things you’d like, at the times you’d like them. You can stop at any time, rest and reassess your route, and you can use those running ahead of you to inspire you. Just like any race, you’ll see people ahead of you and others behind you.

There’ll even be people running right alongside you, perhaps on the exact path you’re on

Wow your friends and attract your preferred sex by dropping these nuggets of knowledge into conversation:

1. By the time they graduate, the average debt of a student starting this Autumn is likely to be around £50,000.

2. At some unis, the cost of living is more than twice as much as at others. Last year Teesside was the cheapest and the Royal Academy of Music the most expensive. Meanwhile, studying in London is almost 50% more expensive than studying in Wales. So, choose your uni carefully.

There's never a better time to get yourself fighting fit, both mentally and physically, but we know it's often easier said than done.

Now, we don't know it all, but trust us when we say that Rome wasn't built in a day. Small, manageable changes are the best way to have a long-term impact on how you think and feel, so here's Push’s 5 top tips for maintaining good mental health.

Year 12 ​Your mates in the year above might be able to breathe a sigh of relief having submitted their final UCAS applications, and rightly so. But for you, the process is quickly becoming a reality. So now is as good a time to get your options after school ready.

​If uni's in the cards and you've already got an idea of what subject you want to commit a few years of your life to, then kudos to you. Go to our Which Uni? page for all the info on how to pick the perfect place for you. ​

Mental health is nothing to be sneered at, and it can be a big weight on the shoulders of the average young person. Push wants to hammer home just how crucial it is to let people in on how you feel.

Isolation from others and from the society around you is the biggest cause of mental illness developing. It has been proven that people who lack a sense of community in their lives (in other words, a support network on your doorstep) are more likely to experience mental illness.

Community experiences – however you get involved – give people a sense of self-worth, of belonging to something bigger than themselves

YEAR 12So, you're settled into the swing of sixth form. In the future is Christmas and your next proper break. Sadly, that’s not all the future holds: it's creeping up on you like a scary clown. The difference is your future's not a terrifying fourteen-year-old in a mask.

Martin Lewis from MoneySavingExpert.com is back with some excellent, up to date info on student loans. Read below for a summary of his guide for future students and their parents, or anyone who's not too savvy when it comes to the student loan small print. ​

1. Student loans can add up to £50K, but that's not the price you'll pay back:

At undergraduate level, students with finance don't pay the universities directly – the Student Loans Company sort this out for them. Over three years, this adds up to just under £50K, but that's not all you'll (maybe) be paying back.

So, you might be thinking about taking a gap year. You might have blindly just stumbled into one.Worried about funding it? If you're keen to travel the world whilst getting physically fit, while developing skills like teamwork, communication, leadership, tenacity and initiative, then The Army's Gap Year Commission is 100% worth a look.